Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1887-04-27

Inc rolIrOS III OI Tie touhliS ASSShV
the attempts OF the recent congress
and of recent legislatures to protect
the people from exc rbitant and ruin
Gus railroad charges and are DOING
all in their power to make the inter
state commerce and similar laws un-
popular and Ineffective. Especially
is this true Of the Manitoba road. 1t
is causing its patrons annoyance III
every possible way, charging every
cent the law will allow, wner" tue
traffic can stand it, and i'll all other
eases is charging, according to lts
long established practice, "all the
trafrlc will bear The Manitoba
road is conducting grab game,
pure and simple. No interest Is con-
suited but it's own. OF course it dares
not utterly ruin the farmer or cripple
any industry so that it will cease to
exist, but it will take every cent 1t
can get that it is policy to take.
Thousands of farmers are kept In
poverty by the tax placed upon them
| by this railroad and now the railroad
proposes to put on the screws tighter
than ever.
The Western Rural in an editorial
upon this subject makes few sensi-
bic remarks which we quote: 1.-The
| Interstate Commerce law meant to
say to the railroad: You are charg-
ing more for a~sioat haul than you
| are for long haul, and this ia not
right. To say the least your charges
for the former ought not to exceed
your charges for the latter. You are
charging Il remunerate rate for your
long hauls, now lower your short
haul rates to conform thereto. But
the roads saw a defect in the law by
which they could thwart its purpose
and they Immediately took advantage
oft. Instead of lowering the rates
for the short haul they have done the
monstrous injustice OF raising rates o.
the long hauls to conform to -thnsNs>
directly opposite way than that in
tended; and by 30 doing they no
only hope to increase their profits bu
to create q popular dissatisfaction
with the law which they hope will
ultimately lead to abandoning all at
tempt to control railroad traf1c. II
this, however, they will find them
selves greatly mistaken. The Rural ii
III favor of no more compromises OF
anything that savors Of compromise
1t is in favor OF iron-clad Legislation
as it has recently said several times
Let every State legislature and Con-
gress proceed as quickly as possible
to fix rates upon a legitimate basis
Say to the roads, You can charge &C
much and no more. There will then
be no chance for monkeying on the
part of these corporations. They say
to US, Give us what the law says we
may take. They can afford to say
that now for the law allows them two
or three times more than they ought
to have. Let us change the law in
our own interests, though doing nc
injustice to the roads, and then it will
be our turn to say: Take only what
the law gives you.
There is an important crisis in this
discussion of the railroad problem
It is life or death with US now. IF we
surrender we are hopelessly ruined
We must press forward to a proper
solution of this great. vital question
Of regulating the management OF
railroads; and we must do it quickly
too. There is not amoment TO be lost
We must organize and make our in.
fiuence SO distinctly felt that no legis.
lature will dare to ignore US. The
roads have virtually challenged us to
the contest and now let us settle for.
ever the question, to whom do the
fruits of our labor belong, TO us or to
the arrogant railroad monopolies ~